My name is Stefano Gullo and I'm an italian Jazz composer based in Den Haag. 

During my Master program at the Royal conservatoire I specialized in writing for orchestra and Big band; but my passion for big ensemble was present from way before.

The first time I heard about the Metropole Orkest was during my bachelor studies in Rome; my Arranging teacher showed us on Youtube the live performance of the Metropole Orkest together with Pat Metheny of "First Circle"

And from that moment until now, that I graduated in the master programme of Jazz composition, my passion for composing & arranging for hybrid ensemble grew up with my passion for the Metropole Orkest.

I constantly followed the publication of the Metropole Orkest, from the release of "Sylva" with the Snarky Puppy in the 2015 and the collaboration with Jacob Collier for "Djesse vol. 1" in the 2018, until the lost performance I saw here in Den Haag in Amare in March with the Tank and the Bangas.
 
Coming here in the Netherlands gave me the possibility to get a bit closer to such a great ensemble, that to me in Italy seemed just an unattainable dream.

Already just meeting and studying with composers and arrangers that are regularly collaborating with the Metropole Orkest; such as Martin Fondse, Vince Mendoza, Miho Hazama and Phlippe Maniez gave me a lot of motivation and raise my will in composing for Big Ensembles.

I keep jealously in my memory the day when I could see, for the first time, the Metropole Orkest recording an album of arrangements of some compositions of the guitar player Steve Vai. 

My teacher Martin Fondse brought me to assist and I was quitly sitting in the control room with Martin, Steve and the Sound engineer.

That day I realized what really means to work efficiently and good in the music field;
how quickly the musicians of the Metropole Orkest were able to record perfectly entire tracks in a really short time,
how Steve Vai was giving his opinions and communicating with the conductor,
but mostly I admired the role of Martin Fondse, the arranger, the person that is working behind the curtain.

I loved how at the end he was the one that had clear what to do and how to play it in terms of arranging, so much that Steve was trusting him completely until we finished that beautiful session with the great guitar player saying to Martin:
 
"I'm really happy that it was you that arranged my pieces"

Needless to say, In my way back home;
on the train I was even more convinced of what I would love to become.

Live performance or Studio session, doesn't really matter to me. 
But I want to write music for a Big Ensemble, I want to become the man behind the curtain, I want to be part of something that works perfectly like the Metropole Orkest did that day.

In order to pursue my goal, I tried to take the initiative to former different ensembles; trying to learn with the practice how to, apart from writing and conducting the ensemble, manage the project.
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I would like to apply for the Metropole Orkest academy or for any chance to have an internship in this ensemble because I believe that it would be a great occasion for me to develop in an environment that is dynamic and challenging;
seeing how also the Jong Metropole is a project that puts the young students in comparison with excellent musicians.
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I wish to learn even more from the Metropole Orkest and hopefully one day create something that has as model this great ensemble.